GLENS FALLS, N.Y. – Despite riding the momentum of a shootout victory earlier in the week, the Indy Fuel couldn’t solve Adirondack goaltender Isaac Brodeur on Friday night, falling 3-0 to the Thunder at Cool Insuring Arena. The game was a physical battle, with a staggering 74 combined penalty minutes, but Indy was unable to capitalize on key power play opportunities.
Adirondack struck first late in the frame when Grant Loven netted his ninth goal of the season at 19:35, assisted by Ryan Conroy and Brendan Less. Despite trailing 1-0, the Fuel held a 12-8 edge in shots on goal.
Indy came out aggressive in the second, searching for an equalizer, but instead, Adirondack doubled its lead when Greg Smith scored his sixth goal of the year from Jake Busby and Shane Fox.
The Fuel continued to press offensively but were stymied by a tripping penalty against Lucas Brenton at 17:07. They successfully killed off the penalty but headed into the final period down 2-0, still leading in shots 22-14.
The final frame saw an explosion of penalties and physicality. The Thunder’s Hussain Ebrahim took a delay of game penalty at 3:19, giving Indy an early power play opportunity, but they couldn’t break through Brodeur’s defense.
More penalties piled up, including a 5-on-3 advantage for the Fuel following a high-sticking call on Adirondack’s Patrick Wheeler and a boarding penalty on Conroy. However, Indy failed to convert, and the missed opportunity proved costly.
Adirondack put the game out of reach at 14:47 when Alex Gervais scored, assisted by Loven and Busby, making it 3-0.
Then, tempers boiled over. At 15:56, Adirondack’s Ryan Tucker and Wheeler, along with Indy’s Jordan Martin and Conroy, engaged in multiple scrums, leading to double minors and a misconduct for continuing an altercation. A minute later, Farmer and Gulka dropped the gloves, followed by Bilek and Gervais getting fighting majors and misconducts before the puck even dropped.
When the dust settled, the Fuel had outshot the Thunder 30-22 but couldn’t solve Brodeur, who secured his fourth professional shutout.
Indy will get another shot at Adirondack on Saturday night before returning home for a showdown with the Toledo Walleye on Tuesday, 7pm, at the Fishers Event Center.